The sky was crowded. Ominous dark grey clouds filled its space.

Most of normal people would have remained inside. Safe, warm, and dry. Away from the raging storm. Yet, Juliette had different idea. Surely, such weather as today, when the roaring sound of thunder could be heard, was the best time to rest. However, she could not rest. Not when her gut feeling demanded she needed to go.

It's easy to see how this was insane. For her to arrive at such a new destination with no more than an umbrella and clothes, of course. Only to meet a man she had never seen before. Still, Juliette was not the sort of lady who doubted herself, especially not when she knew instinctively that this was the direction she was supposed to be going.

A soft smile crept across Juliette's face. She wasn't the one who loved to talk about fate or destiny, but her hunches had never failed her. All of these might seem dangerous, however she knew: hospital and death were not for today.

Bearing those believes made by her weird senses and luck, she walked. The sound of her heels to the pavement duetted the pouring rain, they resounded to Günther. Having years of experiences in street, Günther's senses were sharp. A presence, he could feel it. Weak yet confident. It pulled at his focus.

His goons, ever so watchful, began to murmur among themselves. One was about to approach him. It was within their jobs to give the boss a warning. But before they could, Günther raised his hand in a silent gesture, a clear signaling to them to shut up.

He paid an attention. Those steps—too intentional to be mere coincidence—gave away the impression that this person wasn't lost. Whoever this was, they were not wandering about. They were right on their destination. That thought came to him with a small tingle of excitement: Another round, huh?

Günther spun around. His eyes were searching in the midst of rain. For another competitor. He had gripped his sword tighter, steeled himself for any continuation. Yet he was still surprised at what he encountered.

A girl.

She was not timid in any obvious way, as their eyes met, she hadn't flinched. It felt as if she had made an entrance on purpose, as if she had wanted to be there. He frowned, perplexed and intrigued. To him, she was either very brave or utterly insane.

This was really strange, yet Günther was not the kind of man who could be intimidated by look. He could have finished the night quickly. There were some limits however; even a person like him knew that. It was against his policies to harm a female unless all options had been exhausted. Instead of making any hasty moves, he chose to invite her to a conversation.

He turned his head, watching her with amused and warning eyes. "Well, what do we have here? A lost girl?” The tone he used was annoyingly dry and mock sincere. "And in heels, no less!"

Even by then, Juliette managed to smile. She met his gaze firmly even under the weight of his twisted charm. "I assume you must be Günther," she stated. Her tone gave away her foreign accent. She had indeed came from another country. Only to meet him.

A deep, almost menacing chuckle escaped his mouth, it was surprising that she knew his name. Nevertheless, Günther could now confirm. She wasn't lost. For better or worse, she was here for him.

"I don't remember sending any invites, darling."

Not caring of how her presence was unwelcomed, Juliette raised one eyebrow and stepped forward again, "Am I wrong? Are you not Günther?"

Günther's laughter grew amused, "Depends," he said, sounding teasing yet sharp. "Who wants to know?"

Calmly assured of her movements, Juliette walked forward with small steps dodging the puddles on the surface. Her steps were firm, as if the way ahead had already memorised. The rain, the storm, as well as the blood-and-rain drenched stature facing her didn’t seem to bother her. She cut their distance.

"I am Juliette," she stated. "Juliette Dufresne. I have been informed to meet the real you here."

Günther’s eyes were then filled with suspicion. For a fraction of a second, this was unpleasant. Who the hell knows my whereabouts? Who the fuck informed her?

He had suspected one of his goons was a rat. However, he could not let thoughts went too far. Not now, not with her standing here beaming with confidence and asserting that she had come for him.

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I'll deal with that later. First of all, who the fuck she is? So he decided, to dismiss it. There are more important issues to attend to. It was obvious she was no normal woman and whatever it was that had brought her there, he wanted to know it.

"That's cool, you've got some guts," he said, the sarcasm slowly reappearing on his face. "But I don't really like mystery visitor. Uninvited, on the top of that." He took a step closer, leaning in slightly. His height was easily towering her. "So tell me, Juliette Dufresne, what have brought you here?"

Instead of responding to his inquiry, Juliette nodded, allowed her eyes to wander about for a brief moment.

"Uh-huh... It was pretty. I like the way you pronounce my name," she said at a slow pace, almost as if the statement was made just for the sake of making it.

His eyes were glued to her. He didn't really like this, he hated being left in the dark. And yet—perhaps because of the kind of woman she was—he felt the urge to dig deeper.

"Surely you haven't come all the way just to hear the sweet way I pronounce your name." Günther muttered the last word almost defiantly.

She laughed, but at the same time Juliette felt as though the moment to stop her foolishness had indeed arrived. For anymore than this, Günther might not have the patience either, she judged.

"I’m sorry," she replied. "I assumed you would know me by my name."

Günther slightly furrowed his brow while a smirk that seemed half-humorous formed on his lips. What kind of crack is this girl on?

"Why would you expect me to know your name?" he asked.

Juliette, instead, held nothing back and looked him in the eyes: "Because I'm the woman you're arranged to marry," she replied with a fine smile.

It took a moment before her words sunk into the brain of Günther. The deep baritone of his old man rang in his head, he was given him the information regarding a French woman. An arrangement he hadn’t wanted, one he had actively ignored. Now, however, with the woman right in front of him, strange one, he found himself re-evaluating the entire matter. For a fraction of a second, his eyes widened with surprise before he artfully suppressed it with a mischievous grin.

"Oh," he responded, understanding as pieces of a jigsaw fall into place, "that. Guess it had slipped my mind."

Günther raised an eyebrow, he remembered something just now. "A moment. Aren't we supposed to meet tomorrow? Why are you here?" he questioned.

"That's right. But I have come today," she did not take long to respond this time, "to know you."

"You honestly believe that coming in rainy day like this would be enough to know me?" This was getting nowhere. Nevertheless, he didn’t entirely despise it.

"Surely not,” she admitted. "Just enough to know that I can trust you. And lucky to have you happen to be handsome."

Even though he managed to mask his surprise from the sudden praise, it threw him off quite a bit. "Handsome, you said?" His smile became bigger, filled with self-confidence. "Well, I usually tend to leave that handsome impression on people. But trust that's something I haven't heard."

"My mother says I've got a strong intuition, and it has rarely failed me," she said in a controlled tone, with an element of pride. "For now though, it has only told me we would get along just well."

Intuition. The reason of her arrival might also be the same, Günther thought. Her intuition had guided her here. However, without the same courage, she'd not be here. For the very first time, he started to comprehend that Juliette was not the kind of woman he was thinking of. She was not weak and frail, the type of humble and quite expectation he had placed her into.

"You seem... quite different from the glimpse of the tea and crumpet lady I had in mind."

Juliette raised an elegant brow above a perfectly still face. "And you look rather different from the gentleman I was promised. Yet here we are."

Günther gave out a loud laugh that it was easy to notice. "Touché."

As they spoke, the rain subsided. The constant splashing sound no longer filled the air, and the noise of the wind began to die down. A cool breeze made its way in as the air became crisp with a refreshment that seemed to have swept away the heaviness brought by the storm.

"Looks like the rains going to stop soon," she stated, her composure unwavering but punctuated with a tone suggesting that the subject was closed. She had enough for today. To begin with, this was like a sneak-peek before the release time.

Günther looked up too, registering the cleared sky, then turned back to her. "It seems so," he muttered.

Juliette offered an almost playful smile though it was more knowing than anything else. "It is time to come back now," she said. "We have to meet tomorrow anyways. In our prime."

Juliette retreated a step from him while keeping a firm hold on her umbrella, just a quiet knowledge was shared between them that required no words. It was evident that their meeting this evening was only the beginning of something bigger that was yet to come.

Günther smirked, this girl was easily going, as she was easily appearing. "Prime, huh? Well, we'll see if you're still this confident tomorrow."

Her gaze lingered on him, for the last time in this night. "We will see," she stated. And just like that, she stepped her foot, heels pattering gently on the wet concrete, her figure shrinking away.

Günther observed her swift exit while wearing an expression that was almost the combination of amusement and intrigue. The smiling curve remained. However, there was an additional element to this which was rather difficult to define. This arrangement didn't bring him as much headache as it initially did. There was a feeling he wasn't used to. Especially with a woman like her who seemed to have a clear sense of purpose and had all the means to pursue it. However, it was no longer unwelcome.

But as of now, their true meeting would be tomorrow. Whether they would choose to masquerade as strangers, or acknowledging the night.

"Tomorrow," he said, a smug smile dawning again on his face. "Let’s wait and see."

All was peaceful now, yeah ignoring the laying unconscious men on the ground.